The boy with the huge brown eyes knew so little English when he started first grade last August that the school lumped him with the lowest achievers. He came from a poor, uneducated family that spoke only Spanish to a public school where new laws forbade bilingual teaching. Fast forward six months: Rigo Ureno is one of the top three students in his English-speaking classroom in Anaheim.

Dominique Hatfield won't forget the moment last month that his football coach at Crenshaw High, Robert Garrett, told him a letter had just come in via school fax machine. It was a scholarship offer from the University of Utah. "It almost brought me to tears," Hatfield said. "I started jumping and hugged Coach Garrett. " He sent a text to his mother, Meka. She called 15 minutes later. "She was screaming," Hatfield said. The same joy was felt by Hatfield's teammate, Mossi Johnson, when UCLA offered him a scholarship last month.

Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps is a staunch believer in curing a situation early before it turns into a serious problem. He does that on the court, calling a time out before an opposing team can get a leg up on his Fighting Irish. But he also believes the same philosphy can be applied toward the problems of academic standards and eligibility in college sports today.

A hard field to break into Genetic counselors say they love their work, and the field appears to be on the rise. But breaking in isn't easy. Would-be genetic counselors need to earn a master's degree from an accredited genetic counseling program — if they can get into one. There are only 30 such programs in the United States and three in Canada, and most accept just a handful of candidates per class. Most years, only about 225 people graduate from genetic counseling programs nationwide, says Karin Dent, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

A hard field to break into Genetic counselors say they love their work, and the field appears to be on the rise. But breaking in isn't easy. Would-be genetic counselors need to earn a master's degree from an accredited genetic counseling program — if they can get into one. There are only 30 such programs in the United States and three in Canada, and most accept just a handful of candidates per class. Most years, only about 225 people graduate from genetic counseling programs nationwide, says Karin Dent, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

The UC Irvine men's basketball team has lost a potential starter with the departure of Cornelius Banks, a junior forward who failed to successfully complete academic work required for him to remain in school. "Mr. Banks is no longer a student at the University of California Irvine," Coach Rod Baker said Friday. "I'm disappointed he's not with us. We'll miss his playing ability, his basketball skills. But we still have student-athletes. You have to do both parts." Banks, who averaged 7.

Freshmen John McCartney, a Times' All-County defensive back from Lincoln High, and Michael Landry, a cornerback from Marrero, La., have been declared ineligible to play football at San Diego State this fall, Coach Al Luginbill said Tuesday. McCartney failed to score 700 points on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Landry a 15 on the American College Test, the minimums required by the NCAA for freshman eligibility.

Derek Brown, who set Orange County's single-season rushing record while at Servite High School, said Thursday he will attend the University of Nebraska this fall but will sit out his freshman year because he failed to meet academic standards under Proposition 48. Brown, 5-feet-11 and 180 pounds, said he didn't score the required 700 points on his Scholastic Aptitude Test. He said he didn't remember what his score was. Under National Collegiate Athletic Assn.

Last football season, their names dominated the high school headlines: Curtis Conway, Russell White and Derek Brown. Each was a brilliant athlete and could stake a legitimate claim to being the best player in Southern California. Naturally, all three were offered scholarships to major colleges. Yet, none of them will be playing football this season.

Matt Leinart could tango with teammates at the Rose Bowl if USC wins a third consecutive national title. The Heisman Trophy winner might perform the Nightclub Two-Step in New York if he wins another. This much is certain: As the Trojans' senior quarterback pursues those milestones on the field this season, he will waltz through the fall semester in the classroom.

Matt Leinart could tango with teammates at the Rose Bowl if USC wins a third consecutive national title. The Heisman Trophy winner might perform the Nightclub Two-Step in New York if he wins another. This much is certain: As the Trojans' senior quarterback pursues those milestones on the field this season, he will waltz through the fall semester in the classroom.

Campus presidents of the California State University system held a forum with African American community leaders in Los Angeles on Thursday to find ways to boost black students' enrollment at the 23 campuses. In 2004, only about 5.8% of the nearly 320,000 undergraduate students enrolled in the Cal State system were African American, the university reported. In contrast, 8.1% of all K-12 public school students in the state are African American, according to the state Department of Education.

Missing from the schedule of many students this year is one class that used to be a given: physical education. From North Carolina to Hawaii, gym classes have been squeezed out of the school day -- a trend that parallels a national increase in childhood obesity. In 1991, 4 in 10 high school students took daily PE classes; 10 years later, barely a third did. In 1980, just 5% of school-age children were severely overweight; 20 years later, the number had jumped to 15%.

The boy with the huge brown eyes knew so little English when he started first grade last August that the school lumped him with the lowest achievers. He came from a poor, uneducated family that spoke only Spanish to a public school where new laws forbade bilingual teaching. Fast forward six months: Rigo Ureno is one of the top three students in his English-speaking classroom in Anaheim.

The UC Irvine men's basketball team has lost a potential starter with the departure of Cornelius Banks, a junior forward who failed to successfully complete academic work required for him to remain in school. "Mr. Banks is no longer a student at the University of California Irvine," Coach Rod Baker said Friday. "I'm disappointed he's not with us. We'll miss his playing ability, his basketball skills. But we still have student-athletes. You have to do both parts." Banks, who averaged 7.

Freshmen John McCartney, a Times' All-County defensive back from Lincoln High, and Michael Landry, a cornerback from Marrero, La., have been declared ineligible to play football at San Diego State this fall, Coach Al Luginbill said Tuesday. McCartney failed to score 700 points on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Landry a 15 on the American College Test, the minimums required by the NCAA for freshman eligibility.

San Diego County's 12th-graders and their counterparts in the rest of the state have shown strong gains during the past five years in preparing for college, new data from the state Department of Education shows.

Campus presidents of the California State University system held a forum with African American community leaders in Los Angeles on Thursday to find ways to boost black students' enrollment at the 23 campuses. In 2004, only about 5.8% of the nearly 320,000 undergraduate students enrolled in the Cal State system were African American, the university reported. In contrast, 8.1% of all K-12 public school students in the state are African American, according to the state Department of Education.

San Diego County's 12th-graders and their counterparts in the rest of the state have shown strong gains during the past five years in preparing for college, new data from the state Department of Education shows.

Last football season, their names dominated the high school headlines: Curtis Conway, Russell White and Derek Brown. Each was a brilliant athlete and could stake a legitimate claim to being the best player in Southern California. Naturally, all three were offered scholarships to major colleges. Yet, none of them will be playing football this season.